Music

Monday, July 24, 2006

Peet started it, That Little Round-Headed Boy ran with it, and now it’s my turn. Thanks to the good folks at You Tube.com, we’ve got a little round of “What’s Your Favorite Tex Avery Cartoon?” developing here, and I’m proud to offer up the next salvo. Here’s my nominee for Favorite Cartoon Ever, a 7:14 blast of cranky fury and comically suppressed pain entitled Rock-a-Bye Bear. In the face of this bear, all teeth and hot breath and jumping-up-and-down anger over a prolonged barrage of hibernatus interruptus, keep your eye on the dropped jowls and detached stare (it’s all about self-preservation) of our put-upon bulldog. This is what it is to have the abyss reflected on one’s face and stare back at it, aghast. I can’t watch this cartoon without convulsing with laughter. I’m at the office now, so I really can’t watch this cartoon. I can’t. Oh, maybe just one time…

Dennis -- you must have that Tex Avery laserdisc box set, yes? You've just reminded me that I have to get those LDs out of the garage and hook up the ol' Pioneer player! I'm a big fan of any Droopy Dog cartoons. And "Red Hot Riding Hood" is another favorite!

Jim-- That Tex Avery laserdisc box is one of the most prized items in my collecion. And who knows if those will ever see their day on DVD. And yes, Droopy, especially in his sheriff incranation, kills me.

TLRHB-- I'm on my way!

Cerb-- There's no such thing as intruding here. I've gotta see what your favorite is now!

Psaga-- Let me know when you've mastered that feat. If flying up to Oregon to see that isn't worth a plane ticket, I don't know what would be!

I just realized something, watching this for the second time today (yes, I know, but I'm on a writing deadline -- or three -- so of course I'm watching cartoons): It's basically Kiarostami's "The Wind Will Carry Us" (the funniest of his movies that I've seen) with a cartoon dog and snow instead of a live-action man and sand. The dog keeps running out into the snow to make noise, just as the guy in K's movie has to run out to a high spot in the desert to get cell phone reception. Avery is just ever-so-slightly funnier than Kiarostami. I wonder if Abbas has ever owned up to this aesthetic debt.

"Rock-A-Bye Bear" was also the blueprint, as far as I can tell, for two cartoons Avery made for Walter Lantz: "Shhhh!" and "The Legend of Rockabye Point" (my own favorite of the three, but it's close). Perhaps someday they'll be known as "The Rock-A-Bye Trilogy."

Jim: I got a huge kick out of your Abbas Kiarostami/Tex Avery comparison, even though I haven't seen the Kiarostami film. I'm sadly deficient in experience with his work as of this writing, yet I'd read enough about him and The Wind Will Carry Us to vividly imagine how the two movies might mash up. I'd love to see what some madly inspired film fan/computer genius might come up by digitally intermixing those two seemingly incongruous works! I showed Bear to my girls yesterday, and now I can't walk into a room without being asked to "do the bear," which means (mock) yelling "Quiet! Quiet! When I say quiet, I mean quiet!" and then instantly falling asleep and snoring like a machine gun! Big laughs around dinnertime with that one!

Brian: I'd forgotten his name (how could I?), but Spike has always been a favorite of mine too. I don't recall The Counterfeit Cat off the top of my head, but I plan to get acquainted with it very soon. And just to reiterate, I am most definitely in on the Friz Freleng Blog-a-Thon!

Tim: Thanks for mentioning those titles. I saw an Avery festival at the Nuart here in L.A. years ago, and they played Rock-a-Bye Bear back-to-back with another short that was a virtual repeat of Bear's themes and even some of its gags. I've been trying to remember if those were included in that Avery laserdisc box, but like Jim, mine is tucked away in an inconvenient place, so I couldn't easily check. But now that the girls have been indoctrinated, I'm going to have to get it out of storage, so I'll be able to find out for myself.

Flickhead: It's true! I haven't decided on a date yet, but I'm gravitating toward the end of September/first of October for the Aldrich Blog-a-Thon. Girish mentioned Hustle, which I moved to the top of my Netflix queue this morning, and I've got that new Emperor of the North disc just waiting. Plus, Attack!, Baby Jane and Sweet Charlotte, plus The Longest Yard, The Big Knife, Kiss Me Deadly-- This is gonna be a good one! Are you in?

Dennis, I'm currently experiencing burn-out. Not a block. Just burn-out. I'll wait before committing myself to the Aldrich Blog-a-Thon, but I did put a teaser ad for it on the sidebar of the Flickhead blog.

Thanks, Flickhead. I suspect that I might have to go temporarily dark myself for a few days, and sometime soon. Lots of things happening that will need some of the oxygen I usually reserve for the goings-on here. I anxiously await your participation, but fully understand if you can't. Here's to the recharging of batteries.

As Tim Lucas already pointed out, there's also the very similar Chilly Willy short "The Legend of Rockabye Point", featuring a sleeping bulldog and a polar bear, which Avery did for the Walter Lantz studio after he stopped working for MGM. YouTube currently only has a very muddy version up, but it's definitely worth the watch:

I love the Rock-a-Bye bear cartoon, too, though it just reminded me of how brilliant I've always thought Chuck Jones Three Bears toons were. Not even the one with Bugs Bunny but the subsequent ones, including the incredibly uproarious father's day 'toon - some of the best character animation and comic timing ever.

Late to the party, as usual, and it looks like I've now missed the chance to see one of Avery's funniest cartoons. (YouTube, in their infinite wisdom, have removed most of the cartoons from their site, under pressure from the studios.)

I first saw Tex Avery's "Rock-A-Bye Bear" in a theater when I was about four. I vividly recall that audience of mostly adults utterly convulsing at the thing. Years later I realized that this cartoon, besides being hilarious and brilliantly timed, contains arguably the best prolonged animated explosion (actually several explosions) ever done anywhere. Nobody could work one single gag like Tex and "Rock-A-Bye Bear" contains the best example of this.

Rock-A-Bye Bear gets my award for best cartoon EVER as well. Just a total classic and I'm not sure Avery ever topped it, although most of his samples from this era were gems. I cant believe this Laserdisc Avery compilation hasnt been done on DVD! Sure wish I could find the whole version of Rock-A-Bye Bear as well. Just priceless stuff that has not been duplicated.

Actually, after a quick search, I did come up with the complete TEX AVERY collection on DVD at sell.com for @ $22usd. If your DVD player plays DVD-R, then these should work but I haven't seen them yet and no nothing on the absolute quality. Still, it seems worth a chance, even if one might overdose with a full sitting, but that strikes me as a challenge I might have to take.

http://www.sell.com/22CLV6

There is also a 9 DVD selection as well (first link is 6 DVDs).http://www.sell.com/22M52B

I haven't made my mind up regarding which one to go for but it looks like a worthwhile gamble considering all the great titles. I don't think anyone compares to Avery and there's nothing exactly like it, even to this day. So many have emulated him but none have equaled.

These sound like they might be digital dubs from the MGM laserdisc collection. Provided the source disc is in good shape, they ought to be at least worth $22, which is a HELL of a lot less than I paid for the laserdisc when it came out.

I totally agree, Dennis. At the least, it's worth the $22. I just left a message for one of the sellers and he responded within 30 minutes (guy with 9 DVD version). Seemed pretty professional, too. If I do get them, I'll post a comment on quality.

For those that want a touch of this classic Rock-A-Bye Bear, there is a brief clip when Spike first meets the Bear. This short piece has a few classic moments and is worth a look to refresh your memory of the great Bear lines.